Last Friday, I skipped out on the chance to see Nas perform live at Temple. Why? Because I would’ve had to take the train home by myself after the show… at Temple.
That night I read the blog I wrote last week and, naturally, felt like a hypocrite.
Luckily for me, my good friend Tre was going to the concert. I asked him to give me a detailed account of what happened so that I could gain a better understanding of what the Temple campus was actually like. Here’s his story.
When he arrived, he saw what he described as a “chaotic and violent urban landscape.” He immediately heard the sounds of shootings, sirens, and patrolling helicopters overhead. Every student he saw carried a handgun while wearing a kevlar bullet proof vest. I hope that their tuition covered those items.
He eventually met up with his good friend Ricky, along with his half-brother Doughboy. Doughboy was majoring in Cap Bustin’, according to Tre, a very popular major at Temple. Tre described Doughboy as being a bit on the angry and aggressive side. I suppose he was pissed off about his terribly ouProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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ated hairstyle.
The trouble began when a North Philly resident purposefully bumped into Ricky. The situation escalated into the resident firing rounds of bullets in the air and the Nas show being promptly canceled. On their way back to their dorm, both Tre and Ricky were stopped by a Temple security guard. Tre managed to secretly videotape the confrontation. The video can be seen here.
Tre and Ricky continued to make their way back to the dorm. Suddenly they were spotted by the same North Philly residents they had encountered earlier. Using a stolen golf cart, they performed a fatal drive-by on Ricky. Doughboy then tracked the assailants down and applied the skills that he had learned in his Cap Bustin’ course. After this, he met up with Tre and shared some thought provoking words.
Most Penn students think Temple is similar to a certain 1991 movie that dealt with life in the hood. Blogger’s Note: Any similarities that this blog has with this film are entirely coincidental. Yet many of them have never even been to this area and are only going by the stereotypes perpetuated by others. The truth is, they don’t know. They don’t even know about what’s going on at Temple.
That Doughboy can be mighty articulate when he wants to be.
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